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Department of Ecology News Release - May 12, 2008
08-122
BELLEVUE – The owner of a cargo ship that spilled bunker oil in Seattle’s Elliott Bay last year has paid a $27,500 penalty to the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology).
The bulk carrier Songa Hua – operated by OSM Ship Management (OSM) of Singapore – spilled an estimated 93 gallons of intermediate fuel oil on Feb. 28, 2007. The ship was anchored off Smith Cove, about a half-mile south of the Port of Seattle’s Pier 91.
An overflow occurred while the Songa Hua was loading fuel from a barge. The thick oil, which fuels large ship engines, has a consistency like pancake syrup when heated to flow through transfer lines. Ecology investigators later determined that ship’s crew caused the spill by:
The crew also failed to immediately report the spill, as required by state law.
“The best oil-spill defense is prevention,” said Dale Jensen, who manages Ecology’s spill prevention, preparedness and response program. “Washington State requires detailed planning before – and attentive care during – each marine fuel transfer. Crews have to meet those requirements every time they transfer fuel over water.”
The spill caused areas of oil sheen within approximately 90 acres of northern Elliott Bay. The sheen coated bulkhead rocks at Elliott Bay Marina and pilings under Pier 91. Cleanup took six days to complete.
OSM bore all cleanup contractor costs. The company last year also reimbursed the state $11,139 for response and investigation costs, and paid a $1,855 Natural Resources Damage Assessment. Ecology deposited the penalty and assessment payments into accounts that fund the department’s chartered Neah Bay emergency response tug.
Ecology and the U.S. Coast Guard jointly responded to the spill, oversaw the cleanup, and investigated the incident.
Oil spill prevention and response is part of Ecology’s ongoing efforts to reduce toxic threats to people and the environment and meet the goals of the Puget Sound Initiative, a comprehensive effort by local, tribal, state and federal governments, business, agricultural and environmental interests, scientists, and the public to restore and protect the Sound.
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Media Contact: Larry Altose, Ecology media relations, 425-649-7009; pager 206-663-1785
Photo Editors: Photos of oil-stained ship and shore cleanup available.
For more information:
Songa Hua spill:
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/spills/incidents/songahua/songhua_main.html
Neah Bay emergency response tug:
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/spills/response_tug/tugresponsemainpage.htm
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/news/2008news/2008-088.html
Details on safe bunkering requirements (fueling a large vessel)
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/spills/prevention/VesselTechAssist/Bunkering.html
(Link updated 05/27/08.)
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
